off to a great start :)

Sasha has a new favorite spot to hide...my guitar case! Endless peek-a-boo fun ;)

Here is the real definition of fun: a week of sickness (congestion, sore throat, mild fever and a brutal cough that made her cry) mixed with all four of her canine teeth coming through the surface at once! Sleep deprivation has been a challenge for us but it seems she is pretty much back to health. And she was surprisingly happy throughout it all given her level of discomfort...

Glad she was better a couple of days ago for the first playdate with Merlin in our new home. They were full of joy to see each other again and Sasha was all over him with hugs...and his big smile all afternoon was proof of his happiness too. Gilly and I were so happy to realize at one point -"the kids are playing in Sasha's room and we're able to sit and enjoy our tea together!" A bittersweet moment as we really liked they are old enough and able enough to play away from us...but the flip to that of course is that they aren't little babies anymore! They've both progressed so far and it's so wonderful to see.

Sasha's favorite instrument to play these days is the harmonica. She'll dance around playing it for ages and does a hilarious little dance, bow and clap for herself when she's done. (but she claps for anyone who makes music - why not herself?) Che led the tots in a little music time - presenting the 5th st band. He's got pretty great rhythm! And both the little ones had a blast making lots of noise with him. Music to our ears! kind of - lol

After a few visits from friends and family and time to get to find our way around the new 'hood, we are finally feeling settled in and loving life in the co-op so far! The people we've met are all terrific and everyone continues to make us feel welcome. Thomas jokingly (i think) said he was giving us 'til the end of January before he started asking us what we want to commit time to around here...but I've beat him to the punch and found one way to contribute.

One woman undertook starting up a newsletter for our co-op a little while a go to help build a feeling of community. She was looking for people to contribute items, so for the January newsletter I wrote an article, the first in a series I am writing on public education through the lens of my experience in my many hats in that realm. I'm calling it Lifelong Learner because that is what education equates to in my mind...lifelong learning. If any of you are interested in receiving a copy of any articles let me know.

I'm feeling really stoked about the progress Tanya and I are making with the documentary. We now have some solid interview commitments and the support I've been given so far for the project is fantastic!

One thing you can do to help (If you haven't heard from me through other channels already) I'd really love it if you could visit givemeaning.com/proposal/educateme and vote for my proposal so it will be given official project status. If we get 100 votes by Feb 11th (and we only need 51 more at this point!) then they will support our efforts to raise money for start up funds while we work through the application stages of CBC, NFB, etc.

This is a busy week to come. Tomorrow, after I work, we are taking Penny out for a night on the town. I'm very much looking forward to the performance "Dual Eclipse: Orchestras of Two Worlds" (part of the PuSH International Performing Arts Festival) we're going to see at the Chan Centre. A long time since I've been to any kind of theatre show, and this is at a theatre I haven't been to either - so excited!

Then Monday the job share finally starts! Yeepa! wooooooohoooooo! Once I get child arranged (it is surprisingly difficult to find part time care that gels with our needs...but I think something will work out soon enough!) 3 of the big stresses of last year are in a place of stability for a while. aaaahhhhh

A meeting for CPEN mid-week and a public education conference on the weekend add excitement to the week as well!

To end on even more of a positive note: here are two more pics of our cutey pie having fun around home :)

hip hip hooray new year!!!!!

Here are the grandchildren and great grandchildren of Herbert Petrich...celebrating life and family as we gathered the other day to honour him with a Polish/German feast for Christmas. yum yum yummy!

Sasha loves it when everyone does 'arms in' and a 'hip hip hooray!'...and in this moment of cheer (captured by my aunty Christa) with my family I felt a much needed burst of positive energy. A readiness to enter the new year with a lighter heart and a confidence that comes with new found stability with home and work...and reconnecting with your roots. We really couldn't have asked for a better time for our first gathering in our new home :)

Christmas was filled with some tension for me as i had this overwhelming selfish desire to say "see ya everyone! i'm unpacking!"...a desperate urge to settle into our house before having to give any energy to anyone else. The instability didn't feel truly over with boxes stacked around us...after 4 weeks closed up in storage. Five months of instability of home and work had me longing to just nestle into our new place...and make it a new home. holidays be damned...

But a good dose of family is what i really needed...so we spent Christmas eve and day with Penny. The big dinner was at Jane's this year. The snowy winter in Coquitlam made it a bit of a drama to get there. We actually couldn't get all the way up the hill in Mum's car - so Jane had to come down and get us in her van!! It's really funny in retrospect...though at the moment I was a little tightly wound and was having a hard time finding the humour in it. A glass of nice red wine, time with the Whittam clan members here this year (Jane, Sarah, Daniel, Kenton, Dad & Liz, Mum and us) and a feast of turkey and vegetables...all the stress just melts away with these key ingredients ;)

I didn't get any pics except these two worth posting (a new camera is officially topping the list of things to buy this year!) Sasha enjoying her finger puppets from her stocking and her music intruments with her daddy and brother. sweet family music!





I breathe one last weary sigh for the year that was 2007. Breathe in and out once more to shed the negative emotion that came with: family in the hospital (5, including Sasha, that came out alive...and one that did not); a 3 month strike for Mark and I; having our home sold out beneath us and trying to find a new place to live...while on strike; leaving a community we had developed some roots in; a doozy of a concussion (and #12 to boot); limbo waiting for a job share to go through...these are just the biggies.

Everyone I know seems to have lived through a genuine roller coaster of emotion in 2007. So I hope everyone is able to take a deep breath and let it go. I also hope everyone had many positives to remember as well...cheers to the 'ups' that kept us sane through the wammy of anger, tears and fustration!

I breathe one last sigh of gratitude for the positive emotion that came from: watching my daughter and step-son grow into their toddler year and teen years...love love love the kids! (even when...and sometimes because...they test my patience to the limits! teehee); the family and friends that supported us in so many ways!!!!!!; a visit to Ontario to see my loved ones back home - and included my last visit with Grandpa which was a great one!; after maternity was over going back to work at Brit where I actually love working; a trip to Sun Peaks for the BCRPA symposium which was a super learning opportunity and fun networking time - and a awesome road trip with the ladies; Sasha getting off antibiotics after a year with no reinfections to her urine or kidneys; fun and MC'ing at community events; celebrating 10 years in BC with two fantastic family road trips to an abundance of places that start with C around the province; hanging out with amazing people on the picket lines at Brit...time flies when you're having fun and the days on the line were made bearable because of the great souls we got to bond with; a wonderful weekend on Saturna island for a friends wedding...joy of bonding with friends and meeting new ones...in a gorgeuos environment; a great forum and AGM which I got to MC for CPEN; starting work on the documentary with Tanya; the job share starting in the new year finally providing me a stable schedule to organize child care around...and the ability to really plan my life a little bit again!; our acceptance into the Northern way housing co-op providing us with an affordable home in Vancouver...stability in a new community we look forward to exploring - and loving our new place...now becoming our new home!

yep...I'm still a very lucky girl at the end of this year. As always, I came out of all the bad with a list of good that made it much better...gotta love hindsight eh? ;)

Here are a few more pics my aunt took from our Christmas with my family. I was a bit stunned when the realization hit me that when I moved here Cheyenne was just a bit older than Sasha is now. My baby cousin is no longer a baby...she's blossoming into such a beautiful young woman!! And Sasha absolutely adores her - though what's not to adore? :)









Over the past few days we've actually gotten a lot accomplished in settling in here. I've a blister on my hand from days and nights of building furniture (we purchased some DIY shelving etc)...it was very therapeutic to do something constructive! Though we still have a list of things-to-do for every room, we're almost done unpacking - yay!

The cheesiest thing we've done yet as parents: bought an area rug because it's called "Sasha". Not kidding. Canadian Tire. We actually liked the pattern of another one...but when we felt its texture was nylon and horribly uncomfortable...the comfort and humour of the Sasha rug won out. LOL. And the first thing she did when we put it down was start running laps around the coffee table laughing hysterically...so cute!

With home and work now in a state of balance again, I begin the new year with the strength to work on all the pieces of my public education advocacy! Between the Vancouver Public Education Project, the Charter for Public Education Network (celebrating 5th anniversary of the Charter for Public Education in March), and the documentary "Educate Me?!"...I'm up to my head in a multi-leveled dialogue on public education issues and using these opportunities to engage at the local, provincial and national debate on who controls the agenda for public education, who should and why?

My ears are wide open to any thoughts any of you have on public education! What are your rants, raves, and most importantly...your ideas and vision for what could be. give it some thought...then please share!!

Today we get to see more family...a visit with Karli, Blair, Elise & Brett! When Heath & Melissa get back from Mexico (poor things) we will finally have seen all of our west coast tribe. And I'm full up with love from family again...a very good rejuvenation. :)

Now it's time to catch up with all of our friends!! Isn't funny that when we need our friends most is usually when we retreat into quiet solitude? Well, Mark and I are ready to break the spell, come out of the woodwork and celebrate with friends again! Having missed out on every single holiday gathering of friends and work parties...well...we're feeling a big urge to get our boogy on soon!!! Any takers?

Another thing we're lookin' forward to is another visit to Ontario this year. Along with an opportunity to see all my loved ones (in less than a year since last visit) Easter weekend my family will be gathering for some kind of personal service for Grandpa. And as we reflect again on the loss of an elder I will also be able to celebrate new life when I get to meet the 2nd baby boy of my soul sista Tania! Can't wait for that moment...and to see all 9 of the children of my friends who just grow too darn quickly!

Now wrap your arms around yourselves and let's share a virtual hug - and a cheers to all the positive possibility of the year to come...can't you feel it? How fabu it's going to be!! yep...my old optimistic self is back - how 'bout yours? :)

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